The Tibetan Spirit

Tibet has a long and rich history as a nation existing side-by-side with China while political power in Asia shifted between empires and kingdoms. In 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama issued a proclamation reaffirming Tibet’s independence and the country maintained its own national flag, currency, stamps, passports and army.

Following China’s Communist revolution in 1948, it invaded Tibet in 1950. Overwhelmed, Tibet was forced to give up its independence. After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama – Tibet’s political and spiritual leader at the time – fled into exile in India followed by tens of thousands of Tibetans. Since 1959, China’s government has exercised total political control over Tibet, using all the tools of repression to deter and punish Tibetan resistance.